Hundreds of UK homes protest rising energy costs by turning off electricity

UK plans massive power switch off to protest rising energy costs

Apr 11 2022

The Big Power Off protest saw hundreds of homes in the UK switching off their electricity and power in protest against energy costs.

Taking place at 10pm on Sunday 10th April in the UK, people switched off all electrical devices for 10 minutes straights. The aim of this ‘non-partisan’ action was to create enough of an imbalance in the national grid to get the attention of government.

This, the protesters aimed, would force companies and the government to reduce costs as surges are experienced everywhere. Video footage showed online appears to show lights across Glasgow flickering twice in quick succession at around 10pm.

Organisers claimed that similar protests will continue to take place until action is taken to reduce the energy costs. Another one is being planned for 7pm on Saturday 16th April, to coincide with parliament returning from recess.

Organiser Karen Brady wrote to Twitter saying that ‘Next #BigPowerOff2 will be earlier at 7pm Saturday 16th April, just before Parliament arrives back from their holiday.’

One of the reasons is the over reliance of UK on Russian energy sources. The sanctions imposed on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine has impacted the costs drastically. However, some are arguing that the protest is purely political as they wish governments helped more those who are struggling.

The Resolution Foundation suggests that 1.3million people, including around 500,000 children, could be pushed into absolute poverty as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

Meanwhile, oil prices are tumbling as economies start to show signs of strain. With COVID playing a major role in the crime, million of people aren’t driving or flying in the world’ second largest oil consuming country, Shanghai.

China’s consumer prices rose up 1.5% in March, led by higher by fuel and food prices. The risk of recession is rising in many other major countries, with a combination of stagnant economic growth and rising inflation making a dangerous combination.

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Ukraine has won the battle of Kyiv says White House

Apr 11 2022

The White House has declared through press secretary Jen Psaki that Ukraine has won the battle of Kyiv in the fight against neighbouring Russia.

This claim follows statements by a Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who, on the 8th of April, said that Russia suffered military losses in the weeks since Putin launched the invasion.

Peskov declined to answer when speaking to Sky News about how many civilians had died since the war began on the 24th of February. He said that the Russians experienced a significant loss of troops which, for them, is a huge tragedy.

The White House’s Psaki later told Fox News that the admission from Peskov was interesting. She noted that Russia rarely acknowledges any elements of weakness or defeat.

The press secretary continued by saying that while Ukraine continues to be in need of help and that countries need to continue introducing sanctions, it is significant that the Ukrainians ‘essentially won the battle of Kyiv.’

On the 2nd of April, Ukraine announced that its troops regained control of all areas of Kyiv as well as more than 30 towns and villages. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook saying that ‘the whole of Kyiv is liberated from the invader.’

Despite withdrawing from Kyiv, Russian troops have continued shelling targets in easter Ukraine. The governor of Luhansk urged residents to evacuate the city as conflict intensifies.

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Unpublished legal notice keeping pharmacies from selling COVID home kits

Apr 11 2022

Maltese pharmacies are still unable to sell COVID-19 self-testing kits due to them still awaiting the publication of the legal notice allowing them to carry out the sales.

The Chamber of Pharmacists confirmed that the kits will not be sold by local pharmacies until there is relative legislation in place, despite the kits being available on the black market for months.

Member of the council Claire Shoemake said that the self-testing kits which will be sold in pharmacies will need approval by the World Health Organisation as well as the medicines authority.

These tests will not be nasal swabs as the ones used for rapid antigen testing or PCR. Instead, they will use a person’s saliva to detect any virus traces. Despite the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) saying that the self-tests can offer advantages, the opinions surrounding their legalisation are mixed.

Many in the medical profession pointed out that home tests are ‘operator-dependent’ and thus could result in false positives or negatives if performed incorrectly. The ECDC acknowledged this and said that this could make monitoring disease trends over time more difficult.

However, some of the benefits include enhancing disease control with prompt identification and isolation of cases. This means reduced community transmission.

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End spring hunting for turtle dove BirdLife asks court

Apr 11 2022

BirdLife Malta has motioned to a court to stop the spring hunting of the turtle dove, arguing that the governmental authorisation was illegal with no scientific basis.

A request for a warrant of prohibitory injection against the government was filed by the NGO on Monday morning. With Malta’s spring hunting season opened on Sunday morning, the hunting for turtle doves is set to kick off between April 17th and 30th with a national bag limit of 1,500 birds.

The moratorium on the hunting of the turtle dove, which was in place since 2017, was lifted by the ORNIS Committee last month. BirdLife said that it is requesting judicial assessment on how 2022’s spring hunting season was permitted.

Addressing a press conference outside the law courts in Valletta, BirdLife Malta president Darryl Grima said that the legal notice permitting this year’s spring hunting season for the turtle dove went against the European Birds Directive.

This directive supposedly supersedes any local law, with Grima saying that Maltese courts have the authority and responsibility to decide on any local actions which could breach European directives.

The ORNIS committee was described by BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana as acting like a government puppet. He said that hunters do not care about a declining species, pointing out that turtle dove has been classed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

BirdLife’s head of conservation Nicholas Barbara highlighted how an EU Task force met on March 18th and advised a zero take approach to turtle doves in 2022. Barbara said the government tis failing its obligations to protect the species as well as ignoring the advice of international experts.

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